Wednesday, 30 April 2008

I'm on a train again (that KTX I mentioned before).This time I'm traveling north-ward from Busan to go back up to my home in Seoul.It was good one week in Busan, I spent some time getting my health check-up, see my uncle, aunty, and grandmother. I can only wonder when I will be able to see them again. It may be that we will only meet again in Heaven... I also met up with Grace. She showed me around in Busan a bit, and especially that "Nurimaru" place (I think that's how it's called.) where APEC was held few years ago.

I'll still be blogging and interacting with people online, but as it has been for the past one week or so, I can only expect that it will continue to be like that until I return to Sydney. But I have some stuff to post, I just need to find some time, so return here often to see the latest updates.

Monday, 28 April 2008

I read The Challenge of Missions by Oswald J. Smith while I was traveling to Busan from Seoul. It was a short book, and the book read like a series of speeches by Mr. Smith, rather than a series of writings by him, which made it easier for me to read through. So even I, a clumsiest/slowest reader could finish it within 3 hours of train trip. (It was the KTX, the fastest rail link available between Seoul and Busan. People told me the seat's not as comfortable as some other alternatives, but I was very pleased that it only took about 3 hours to travel from Seoul to Busan. I wouldn't trade an hour for a slightly more comfortable seat. Oops, sidetracking...)

Mark Brazee, who wrote the foreword for the book, rightly said, "don't simply read the words, but listen to the heart of the man" (italics his). Oswald J. Smith, the author is amazingly zealous for the Mission, especially for bringing the gospel to the unreached people groups. I do not wish to downplay the author's obvious zeal for mission; if only I could have 10% of his! However, I will think twice before recommending this book, for I believe this book contains quite a few theological (and/or the way he interprets some passages of the Bible) flaws which, if unchecked, could lead someone to complacent/lazy approach to the Bible, and that in turn can and will only lead to even more grim consequences.If you wish to know more about the early 1900's world missions activities and the way they thought about missions, this book could give some ideas. If you wish to get infected by this great missionary mind, sure, read this book. However, if you wish to gain a solid foundation on the subject of mission, or want to learn how we should go about doing mission, this is not the book you should base and build your knowledge on the subject.

Sunday, 27 April 2008

There is a quote posted on the "Of First Importance" blog today. I quote that quote partly.

God cannot look where there is sin with any pleasure, and though as far as Jesus is personally concerned, he is the Father’s beloved Son in whom he is well pleased; yet when he saw sin laid upon his Son, he made that Son cry, ‘My God! my God! why hast thou forsaken me?’

Wow.O, the wonderful, mysterious, and glorious cross where my Lord was nailed for my sins! O, great is our God's holiness and grace!

I just found out that there is going to be a conference in the US, Louisville, Kentucky. It's called "New Attitude". Looks like it's a good conference, and I am interested in attending, but I am going to miss out on that because the dates don't match well with my trip. Oww, they start on 24th, when I have to be on my plane back to Seoul on 23rd.Nevertheless, I watched a video clip posted there (http://newattitude.org/about) which, I believe it was used for 2006's conference titled, "Humble Orthodoxy". Even though I didn't attend that conference, and I can't attend this year's conference, that video clip served me as a reminder and a refresher as to how we need to keep humility while standing firm on the truth.Watch it now to hear encouragement, reasoning (although it's so brief), and well, get yourself acquainted with some of the most trust-worthy Christian preachers/pastors/authors in the US.

(Sorry, I couldn't find the direct link to the video clip, and I am not sure how long it will be there since the new conference is coming up pretty soon and I think the new one will replace the old one. But if you find a direct link, or a youtube version, please let me know.)

Saturday, 26 April 2008

So I'm leaving for Korea. It's been almost 5 years since I've last been to Korea.I never quite missed Korea, nor felt the need to visit. For the first three years or so since I came back to Australia, I was busy with studies and worried about what my future would hold especially in terms of my permanent residency/visa issues, and future career. Once I graduated, and found a job, and got my permanent residency, I suddenly was faced with a great difficulty at church. By that time, I was heavily involved with ministry at church, and I was greatly disturbed and discouraged by the way the church was headed and by the conflicts that we were having among ourselves. In short, it was a busy and trying 5 years. I am only starting to gain back the stability and peace in my heart I once used to have, and I am learning to enjoy and be joyful when I am serving and participating at church.With all these, I could say that I did not really have time to think about visiting back to Korea. Even now, I did not plan for long, or wanted to visit Korea, it just so happened that an opportunity and a few reasons surfaced. It's probably going to be good to visit my family, relatives, and some friends. I will also visit my sister who is living in St. Louis in the States, and that'll be a good trip too. I've never been to the US, and I really don't know what to expect. Excited? Hardly. But I am anticipating the good things that will result out of this trip as whole.

I started writing this up when I was at the Sydney Airport, waiting for my flight. Unfortunately, I couldn't access the internet, nor I had time to finish writing this up. I completed writing this little life fragment during the flight. I hope to keep on blogging during my trip whenever I get the chance. It should be interesting, since I'm pretty sure that I'll have so much time to think about various things. Now I come to think of it, I really should get my environmentalatory series done and post them. Stay tuned.

I was unable to access the internet till today since last wednesday for the reasons I will be explaining soon I'm sure through this blog or otherwise. But I am back online now. I missed blogging and reading others' blogs. I'll be posting some up from tonight.

Monday, 21 April 2008

I have been reading "Pierced by the Word" by John Piper for the past three weeks or so, one chapter a day. I found many chapters of it typical Piper, not only in their God-centred theology, but also how Piper notices things around him with his biblically informed eyes and taking time to meditate, pray, and apply to himself as well as to his audience. It has been an encouraging read, and I'd recommend to this book to those around me.Here's one excerpt/quote I'd like to share from the Chapter 18, titled "You Have One Precious Life".

If all other variables are equal, your capacity to know God deeply will probably diminish in direct proportion to how much television you watch. There are several reasons for this. One is that television reflects American culture at its most trivial. And a steady diet of triviality shrinks the soul. You get used to it. It starts to seem normal. Silly becomes funny. And funny becomes pleasing. And pleasing becomes soul-satisfaction. And in the end the soul that is made for God has shrunk to fit snugly around triteness.-- p. 77, John Piper from his book, Pierced by the Word

Saturday, 19 April 2008

A (looooong) side note:If I said that I found this video clip so refreshing and encouraging because it was good to see a biblically faithful African-American preacher, would I be guilty of racism? My intention is never to discriminate and to make a racist comment, but I fear that it might be seen as that. I'm simply saying that I have not seen a biblically faithful African-American preacher until now, while I have seen and heard from biblically faithful white Americans, Asians, Korean-Americans, Australians, even a Jew (who was a Christian)!

Coming from Asia and having lived in in Australia for about 10 years, I had many moments when I heard people making defensive remarks about what they just had said because what they said could've seen as racist comments. But as I noticed most of the time, their intention was never racist, nor I took any offense from them or from their "racist" comments. I did not take any offense because they were not discriminating me because of my race, and I knew that their hearts were not set against me for the reason that I was of a different race than they were. It was rather, often just a simple observation from people who didn't come from the same cultural background, and sometimes poking a little fun at the different culture because they found some things in it rather amusing, not because they thought their own culture was superior and intended to influence the other "uncivilised" culture. I think people generally need to relax a little and give some benefit of doubt.

I also noticed that, a lot of conflicts, labeled under the category of "racism" in the western society, are overrated, or has not much to do with racism. While some of them are coming from its legitimate roots dating back to (and of course, even before) the Era of Colonialism, sadly original meaning and the scope of the word "racism" has been skewed and twisted over in more recent times, especially in the western world, and that many conflicts and issues are improperly handled because they are not seen as what they really are, but as a form or kind of racism.People are pressured to use the "politically correct" words, and people, even Christians use the word, "Racism" to defend their rude words and actions and to shut up the other party. (I'm finding it hard to present a concrete example from my own experience at the moment, so I'll point to my beloved character Jonah from the Summer Heights High. In the show, Jonah complained that the English teacher was racist because she said, 'O, you islander boys, you're always late to class', among other things. Now, she is at fault for making a general comment like that, but Jonah should clean up his own acts first, don't you think? Believe me, this kind of immaturity exists in real world, and among adults too! And, oh, c'mon, I'm not siding with the racism towards Islanders, ok? Who would?)

Of course, I am not condoning the racism proper, it is evil and has no place among Christians and should be eliminated in every society and culture. But, let's not hide behind this "bully" called racism using your cultural background as an excuse when you did something rude and bad yourself.

Thursday, 17 April 2008

I just found out today that a friend of mine (who is a pastor) went to the Together for the Gospel conference in US! I'm sure he's having such a great time there being encouraged, refreshed, and re-focused. When he comes back, I hope he will continue with the ministry of the Word with even a greater passion for the Gospel.I watched this video clip of Mark Dever, one of the speaker at the conference, welcoming the attendees. I see that this kind of warm, humble, peace-making attitude is often absent from those of us who want to follow Jesus and be faithful and committed to the truth of the Gospel. An area where I need to grow more.

Facebook launched a feature called Lexicon.What it does is that given a term (or more separated by commas), it shows a graph of how many of the Facebook users used that given term each day over a period of time.I played with it for few minutes yesterday and found something interesting.When I searched for 'yes' and 'no', it gave me the following result.

The graph shows that far more people used 'no' than 'yes'. Does this mean that we are more negative than positive? Or does it mean we are simply more expressive about something negative?

Just a random thought I had which is statistically, socially, scientifically imprecise.

Some other interesting searches:- God, Jesus (Lexicon is case-insensitive): See the crazy spike around Christmas, and a moderate, but still significant one around the Easter.- love, hate: I guess a lot of people are saying something like, "No, I love you!" than "Yes, I hate you!" ;-) Also, notice the spike around Christmas and Valentine's Day.- Obama, Clinton, McCain: I'm not that into politics, I just hear a lot about it these days.

Wednesday, 16 April 2008

The Faithful Writer is a one-day conference for Christians interested in exploring the ministry potential of writing, paid or otherwise. It's for Christians keen to use their words to serve and glorify the one who made words. It's for Christians who are passionate about communicating and communicating well.

I haven't been to that conference before, but I believe it would be a conference for those who want to let Jesus be known, exalted, glorified, honored, worshiped and praised through a humble form of writing all over the world. That I would include a lot of us bloggers.

Jonathan Leeman posts on a schema of seven counterfeit gospels, as cited in How People Change by Tim Lane and Paul Tripp.

Formalism. “I participate in the regular meetings and ministries of the church, so I feel like my life is under control. I’m always in church, but it really has little impact on my heart or on how I live. I may become judgmental and impatient with those who do not have the same commitment as I do.”

Legalism. “I live by the rules—rules I create for myself and rules I create for others. I feel good if I can keep my own rules, and I become arrogant and full of contempt when others don’t meet the standards I set for them. There is no joy in my life because there is no grace to be celebrated.”

Mysticism. “I am engaged in the incessant pursuit of an emotional experience with God. I live for the moments when I feel close to him, and I often struggle with discouragement when I don’t feel that way. I may change churches often, too, looking for one that will give me what I’m looking for.”

Activism. “I recognize the missional nature of Christianity and am passionately involved in fixing this broken world. But at the end of the day, my life is more of a defense of what’s right than a joyful pursuit of Christ.”

Biblicism. “I know my Bible inside and out, but I do not let it master me. I have reduced the gospel to a mastery of biblical content and theology, so I am intolerant and critical of those with lesser knowledge.”

Therapism. “I talk a lot about the hurting people in our congregation, and how Christ is the only answer for their hurt. Yet even without realizing it, I have made Christ more Therapist than Savior. I view hurt as a greater problem than sin—and I subtly shift my greatest need from my moral failure to my unmet needs."

Social-ism. “The deep fellowship and friendships I find at church have become their own idol. The body of Christ has replaced Christ himself, and the gospel is reduced to a network of fulfilling Christian relationships.”

I must say that I am guilty of at least 5 of them at various times. O, repent my soul!How great is the grace of God that He would love me and keep me as I continuously falter and stumble around as if God has not shown me the way. May Him be known and exalted more and more whatever happens to, in, and through my life.

Latest from James Fong.I'm pleased that he can go out and take a walk for more than 30 minutes now. It may not sound like much, and it isn't for a normal person, but I am happy for him that he can do for that long and saw improvements over the week. It must be helpful for his mental and emotional health as well as physical.

Please continue to pray for him and his family, as he also, no doubt, continues to pray for us all.

May the Lord continue to encourage us to read His word and enjoy His greatness no matter what the circumstances are.

Saturday, 12 April 2008

Michael Spencer posted an excellent essay that is marked with a holy desire of seeing and preaching Jesus.Oh, yes! He who has ears, let him hear.How often has your heart burned and bled sitting in a sermon that did not have Jesus? What a great deceiver is that preacher! O, may God give us another time of reformation in this lost world!

I've been learning experientially in recent years, that not being able to love a person hurts more than not being loved by the person.Of course, when you do not have such desire to love the person, and you are not loving that person, then it's a different story. But when you do have a desire to love someone (and I use the term "love" in a cherishing, both mind-and-emotion-engaged, and seeking actively the well-being-of-the-other-person way, rather than simply that warm, fuzzy-feeling tug-towards-a-person way, hence a desire to love someone, not just a desire for someone), and you cannot love him/her to the extent of your desire, you feel the deepest pain. The reasons for not being able to love someone as much, or as deeply as you want to may vary.For example, instead of the sense of despair over his own impending death, a father who is suffering from a terminal illness may feel more hurt because he cannot provide a safe and comfortable home for his family, and from knowing that he won't "be there" for his wife and kids when they need or want a husband and a father. Or a mother whose son is rejecting to receive his mother's care and runs away from home would feel hurt, which comes more from knowing that she will not be able to provide good care for her son (that is to love her son) than from the sense of rejection (ie. the sense of not being loved by the son). In a romantic relationship as well, this kind of hurt can and does exist, although it would be often over-shadowed by other more passionate and violent emotions.All in all, this type of hurt, I believe, is one of the most profound kinds of human suffering because it stems from failing to fulfill one's deepest desire, and particularly for Christians who are spiritually awakened and being molded by God.

With this kind of thoughts starting to take root in my mind, which sprang up from my observation of people and also from my own experience, I wondered if there were any biblical bases for what I was learning through it, that our deepest desire is not always what it seems on the outside, namely, wanting to be loved, but, in fact, wanting to love. If it wasn't inline with the Bible, I wanted stop thinking in this way so that this idea would not take root in my mind, but I wasn't sure where to begin, and my mind was too distracted with other things to actually do some research of my own.

Yesterday, however, Justin Taylor's blog post (an excerpt from the book, "Running Scared: Fear, Worry, and the God of Rest" by Ed Welch) shed some light on it.From the post (which is the excerpt from the book mentioned above):

Which do we really need—to give love or to receive it? We resist the question because we want to say both.

Yet Scripture seems to favor the imbalance. Not that we aspire to have our friend or spouse love us less, but that “in humility [we] consider others better than [our]selves” (Phil. 3:4). When the kingdom of God is ruling our hearts, we aspire more to serve than to be served, honor more than to be honored, and love more than be loved. This doesn’t mean that we don’t care about being loved; it simply means that we always want to outdo others in love.

Do we run the risk of a lopsided relationship? Absolutely. That is the relationship we have with God—he always loves first and most. . . . Throughout Scripture God is the one who loves more than he is loved. He always makes the first move. He advertises his extravagant affection for us even when we are indifferent or opposed to him.

When Jesus Christ, God incarnate, walked the earth, the pattern continued. Through his life Jesus was rejected by his people and misunderstood by his disciples. At the most difficult point of his life, he was betrayed, denied, and abandoned. But through it all his love was unwavering. In this, he established the pattern for true humanness. This is the way we were intended to be.

This is life in the kingdom. It wants love, but it wants even more to love others deeply. Its treasure is to grow in the fruits of the Spirit, foremost of which is to love others.

Longing to be able to love someone and feeling hurt because you cannot do so does not mean you are a better attuned to God's character, of course. It is to take up the challenge of the Biblical description of love and facing our daily lives with God's love that shows our character. However, embracing the fact that loving (as in giving love) is our greater need than being loved (ie. receiving love), and knowing that there is a hope who are in Christ that, one day, we will be able to love God and one another to the full capacity as designed by God, we can take comfort and draw strength when we are hurting and distraught for not being able to love someone.

By the way, the book, "Running Scared: Fear, Worry, and the God of Rest" sounds like a sound and helpful book, and it's on my Shelfari wishlist. ;-) If you want to get it for yourself, you can get it from here or here.

Friday, 11 April 2008

I have a book on my shelf that is called, "Abraham Lincoln, the president who turned the White House into a prayer room" (or something like that if you translate it into English, it's written in Korean). I had it for a couple of years, and it's not even a thick book, but I haven't read it yet. I tend to be suspicious about a Christian testimony/biography of a great public figure. I don't know about Western Christian writers, but Korean Christians seem to fall too often for mixing and/or confusing an earthly ambition with godly character. I admit that I cannot say that as an excuse for not reading that book, my reasoning would only be valid if the book actually is mixing and confusing those two, but until I read it, how can I say the book actually falls into that trap?

Since it's written in Korean, it shouldn't take me too long to read it. I should pick it up and read it sometime soon.

Anyways, I just read this essay on Lincoln's religion yesterday, and it gave me a whole new perspective on Abraham Lincoln. I think it's worth taking a look if you know who Abraham Lincoln is at all, and that's most of you out there.

Wednesday, 9 April 2008

I'm weary of woman's right activists as they are often tainted with godless feminism. But there's no reason why we, men should shy away from protecting women. No, it is biblically imperative that men should cherish and protect women, not just the rights of women. Around the world, many women are subjected to unjust treatment from men, from infidelity of husbands to abandonment through divorce, from domestic violence to gender-selective abortion, the ways men manifest their disregard for women's welfare, which stems from their disregard for God, vary widely. Here's an oldnews showing one of them.

In Bangladesh, Pakistan and India, the number of acid attacks have been rising - and there are some facts now beyond dispute.The largest numbers of victims come from the poorest backgrounds and are women who have rejected their husbands, employers or would-be boyfriends.The attack is not committed in a fit of anger or "passion" as is popularly believed but is premeditated and intended to kill or maim.The attacker's message in no uncertain terms is that if you can't be mine, you won't be any one else's either.

Pray for those women in South Asia, no, actually, pray all the more for men in South Asia and all around the world, that many godly and masculine men will rise up to protect and cherish women all over the world.

I just read a news reporting the 60 minutes, a journalism sensationalism TV programme is being investigated for paying the incest pair.

Police are investigating Channel Nine over its alleged payment for interviews with a father and daughter convicted of incest.

Channel Nine's 60 Minutes program aired a story on Sunday that sparked a national scandal after John Deaves, 61, and his daughter, Jennifer Deaves, 39, spoke of their love for each other, which yielded two children.

The pair were convicted in the South Australian District Court in Mount Gambier last month of two counts each of incest relating to the conception of their daughter, Celeste, born last year, and another baby who died in 2001, a few days after birth, from a congenital heart defect.

Just read Five Words You Can Cut at the DWTIn short, beware of using the following five words: "just", "really", "quite", "that", and "perhaps".Considering how often I tend to use those five words, probably because I am too defensive most of the time, it's just the tip that I really needed to hear and put into practice perhaps. ;-)

Hopefully I will remember this tip and write more concise yet convincing sentences from now on.

Tuesday, 8 April 2008

Just one more reason to be more depressed for the depressed.From the news:

People who have had depression may be more prone to Alzheimer's disease, two studies suggest.[...]Dutch researchers found Alzheimer's was 2.5 times more likely in people with a history of depression.[...]The findings were echoed in a second study by Rush University in the US published in Archives of General Psychiatry.The researchers followed more than 900 members of the Catholic clergy for up to 13 years during which time 190 developed Alzheimer's.They found that those with more signs of depression at the start of the study were more likely to develop Alzheimer's.

But I do need to know some things. Three, to be precise: first, that I’m not alone; second, that my disease has not made me ugly to those I love and to the God who made me; and third, that somehow, something good can come from this. My faith tells me that the God of the universe suffered everything I suffer and infinitely worse. Death and suffering don’t separate human beings from our Creator—on the contrary: those things unite us with our Creator. The barrier became the bridge: that is the great miracle of the Incarnation, the Cross, and the Resurrection. So I need never suffer alone. Job’s story confirms that, far from rejecting the ugliness of disease and pain, God embraces those who suffer and takes on their suffering. Beauty and ugliness are turned inside-out. Joseph’s story and the gospels alike show a God who delights to use the worst things to produce the best things. That doesn’t make life’s hells less than hellish. But it does make them bearable.

I thought it was one of the most courageous and godly posture a Christian could have when faced with a terminal disease.

Thursday, 3 April 2008

James Fong's xanga site is updated. He's still sick, and struggling to accept and adjust to the new lifestyle. Yet, he clearly loves God still and it shows in his continued zeal for evangelism. It strikes me how he manages to share the Gospel with a new person he meets (or at least lead the conversation towards it) almost each week. I must be really living a Christian bubble or I am ignoring all the opportunities around me.Anyways, go and read his update, pray for them, be challenged by them, and live as a Gospel bearer.

By the way, James, or Janet, if you ever visit me here, you said:

One of the greatest blessings of being physically unwell and housebound is the fact that I can spend more time with Janet and the kids.

That is a great blessing for both you and your children although they are very young at the moment. I just wonder if you'll ever know how much I can relate to that.

Wednesday, 2 April 2008

A news on the SMH that kindled a serious anger and compassion in me today. It was a "yet-another-moment" that I had to ask God how He can stomach this sort of things, only to be reminded of my own failures once again. I'll never fully know the answer to that with my small heart.

May we, Christians, look at the world and see how broken it is, and turn the burning anguish into an explosive prayer and petition.